Fashion Film Future

THE world of fashion and film is still developing - that was the consensus at last night's Birds Eye View Fashion Loves Film event, a series of female-directed fashion films curated by filmmaker Kathryn Ferguson, followed by a panel discussion. Highlights included a video montage by fashion illustrator Julie Verhoeven featuring Kleenex boxes, rubber gloves and a soundtrack by Bobby Gillespie, a parody on consumerism by artist Katerina Jebb with tongue-in-cheek vignettes starring Tilda Swinton, Kristin Scott Thomas and Kylie Minogue, and a shopping channel pastiche hosted by Henry Holland and Pixie Geldoff with "in-house model" Dree Hemmingway wearing his autumn/winter 2011-12 collection.

SEE THE COLLECTION HERE "The internet and the iPod have had a massive effect on editorial - as soon as artists are commissioned these days they are thinking about how the project can be disseminated into different formats," explained journalist Francesca Gavin, while SHOWstudio.com contributor Ruth Hogben poignantly raised the issue online fashion films face when positioned against editorial fashion shoots featured in expensively-produced glossy magazines: "We need our platforms to be as beautiful, as well thought out, as well art directed as our magazines. It's about context, they need to be viewed in their own right, ideally not as part of an overcrowded YouTube page." The debate was chaired by Ferguson, who accredits the rise in popularity of fashion film to the advancement and availability of equipment, such as HDSLR handheld video cameras that require no crew. Regardless of their various approaches, it was clear that fashion took the starring role for these film makers. "Film doesn't exist without fashion," enthused Verhoeven. "It's about the body; how it moves, how it's dressed." Of one of her collaborations - with Gareth Pugh and sound designer Matthew Stone - Ruth Hogben added: "Fashion leads my films. I'm inspired by fabric and line; it's a comment on how I feel about a woman in the clothes. Film is an amazing tool to communicate with." What of the future of fashion film? "The industry is up and coming, it's fast-paced, the language is still being developed," explained Jaime Perlman. "Being more accessible means it's being democratised, there are few star directors to date, but there's a lot of energy and experimentation in this field, so the calibre is going to keep on rising." Birds Eye View runs from March 8 to March 19 at London's BFI Southbank. For a full programme of events, visit www.birds-eye-view.co.uk.